Use Technology to Surprise Your Customers (In a Good Way)

I was recently at the doctor, and at the end of our visit I was waiting for him to write a prescription. I was (sort of) patiently waiting for him to finish making a note in his pda so he could write the script and I could be on my way. As he pecked around with the stylus, he asked me what pharmacy I used, and what town it was in. And then he said “OK, you’re all set.” He had just emailed the prescription directly to my pharmacy, and it would be ready for me to pick up when I got there. (It actually was!)
Now, that might not sound like a big deal, but that’s at least half an hour out of my day if I have to drop off the prescription and then either wait for it or go back later to pick it up. I rushed out the door, saying how that made things much easier for me. He smiled. “Yeah, that’s the idea.”
I love how this doctor used technology to improve his service and my experience as a customer, especially since it wasn’t necessary and it was unexpected. I felt like I got a little bonus, which was less time spent on a chore, and it didn’t cost him any more time to type the email than it would have to write on the prescription pad.
How can you use technology – even in a small, inexpensive way like sending an email – to make a customer happy?Laura Leites, Assistant Editor, Smallbiztechnology.com